Spike and Buffy, Sitting in a tree
by Casscaro
Summary: Inspired by the rhyme - a little bit of S5 fluffy Spuffy.


_**Spike and Buffy, sitting in a tree...**_

"**_K_**eep still!" Buffy hissed as Spike shifted his weight and the branch creaked alarmingly.

"It was your bloody idea to come up here." he frowned over at her. "Why are we up here?"

"So that... _thing_..." she gestured down at the looming shape at the base of the tree, "can't get near me. Gorganol demons – that venomy gloop they spit at you? Last time it took me a week to get it out of my hair."

"Oh no. Can't let killing an evil, child-eating demon get in the way of the perfect hair style." His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"They don't eat children. They're just irritating and slimy and..." Buffy grimaced. "Yuk." She peered down to where the huge, warty demon was snuffling under the tree. "If you hadn't hit it, it would've just shuffled off and left us alone. Have I mentioned lately how irritating you are? And what where you doing back there? Are you stalking me?"

"In your dreams, slayer." Spike snorted. "Yeah, well... still a pretty pass when the great Chosen One bails on a fight because she's worried about her do. You think maybe you're a bit obsessed with the shampoo commercial look?"

"_I'm_ obsessed with my hair?" Buffy looked at him in disbelief. "Just how often do you have to get yours bleached and trimmed? It's not even as if it's your own look. Billy Idol wanna be, much?"

"Actually, Billy Idol stole the look from me."

Buffy looked at him in disbelief. "You knew Billy Idol? No way!"

"Well, yeah – back in the days he was plain old Billy Broad. I ate a friend of his. What? I didn't _tell_ him." he frowned at Buffy's squeak of protest. "Hello? Vampire?" he looked off into the distance, a soft smile playing on his lips. "Good kid. We hung around together for a while; gave him a few pointers. Took a bit of a shine to me, you know, the old hero worship bit." He looked back at Buffy. "Hence the do."

Buffy smiled. "It's a cute look... on him." She added quickly as his smile broadened. "On you it's just... stupid."

"_My_ hair's stupid? Well, at least it doesn't grow straight up like some other ponce I could mention."

"You're getting at Angel now, right?"

"You know any other ponces?"

"Angel's hair doesn't grow straight up. It's just a bit... unruly."

"Unruly, is it? Downright rowdy more like. Do you know how much hair gel he gets through?"

Feeling a little guilty, Buffy giggled. "You know, I tried to run my hands through it once. I was, like, "eeewwww". Kind of killed the moment."

The smile they shared lasted a long time. She found her eyes dwelling on the soft curve of his lips, the fuller lower lip... so pretty... and so very... Buffy shook herself. Get a grip!

"**_I_** don't want to go back to Riley covered in the goo stuff is all. I'll never get it off the sheets." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them.

Spike leapt on them. "Oh, _sheets_, is it? So, you and soldier boy been making out and while he's sleeping the sleep of the just after, you're out here looking for nasties to slaughter. Ah-ha." He paused and looked away, a smile curling the corners of his lips. "Someone can't get no satisfaction." He murmered in a sing-song voice.

"What? I'm all kinds of satisfied. I'm ..." she stopped and glared at Spike. "It's none of your business, and just as soon as I can get out of this tree..."

The Gorganol demon gave a loud, wet sneeze. Buffy frowned.

"I'm just saying. You need to get up in the middle of the night and get your jollies with a bit of slayin', seems to me soldier boy just isn't doing it for you."

"Riley and me... we're good..." even to Buffy her words sounded less than convincing. "We are..." She said softly, as much to herself as to him.

"Yeah? Once more with feeling, slayer. Not that I blame you. He's bloody boring."

"Riley is _so_ not boring." She glared at Spike. "Don't snort. And really, it's none of your business." She turned away from him as resolutely.

Spike shrugged and looked away. They sat in silence for a while; Buffy lost in her thoughts, Spike idly swinging his legs. The silence stretched on, broken only by the grunting of the Gorganol demon from somewhere below.

"**_S_**o, you like Billy Idol?" A peace offering from Spike.

"You sound surprised." Buffy turned back to him, happy to stop her mind wandering to places she would rather it didn't.

He shrugged. "Not sure I had you down as a rock chic. More your Barry Manilow type."

"Barry Manilow!" she snorted. "Oh, now that _is_ an insult! Who in their right minds would actually listen to that stuff? Other than my mom, of course..."

"And Angel."

"Angel!" she turned to him with a gasp of laughter. "_Angel_ likes Barry Manilow? No way!"

"Big fan. Got all his stuff."

"I don't believe you!"

"S'true." He grinned at her. "Cross my heart."

"You haven't got a heart!" she laughed.

The smile faded from his lips and he looked at her steadily. "You think?" Her laughter died at the sudden flash of vulnerability she saw in his eyes. _Spike?_ She resisted a sudden, almost overwhelming urge to press her hand to his cheek and looked away quickly in confusion.

"**_S_**pike..."

"Buffy?"

"You tell anyone I spent the night in a tree with you, I stake you." She spoke lightly - a rough attempt to lift the mood.

"Check."

She smiled over at him then looked up at the night sky through the leaves of the tree. "Wow, would you look at that? So many stars. You know, I'm out every night, and I can't remember the last time I looked at the stars."

Spike moved closer to follow her gaze. "Yep, mighty pretty. That's the thing, isn't it? You see something every day... night... but you just stop taking notice. Stop looking at it properly. Stop seeing."

He wasn't looking at the stars any more, she could feel that. It would be easy to turn to him, to acknowledge him. But she couldn't – this was _Spike; _vampire, evil, all that; and this was _so_ wrong and confusing and wrong and what on earth is going on here? Riley... focus on Riley... So she kept her eyes fixed on the sky and let the moment pass.

"**_I_** think it's gone." She was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that his hand, resting on the branch, was pressed close to hers. She turned to face him at last.

"Looks like". Their eyes locked.

"You think it's safe to get down?" She was strangely reluctant to leave the bizarre comfort of the tree and his companionship.

"Give it a few more minutes." He said after a moments thought.

"Good idea." She was afraid the relief was obvious in her voice. They sat on in silence until Spike sighed. "It's getting late. Early. Whatever. Dawn soon."

"Really?" Buffy bit her lip. How long has she been out? But still they sat on. Somewhere in the distance, a bird began to sing.

"**_N_**ow might be a good time to go." Spike squinted up at the eastern sky.

"Yes." She felt strangely reluctant to lose the touch of his hand against hers.

"It's been..." he gave a small shrug.

"Yes."

"**_G_**oodnight, Buffy." He smiled softly and for a moment he seemed to lean slightly toward her, eyes holding hers, and she thought... _she thought... he might..._

He swung himself down from the tree, landing lightly on the soft earth below. He looked up at her, blue eyes smiling, and she felt a tug of... _something_... that took her breath away. And if it wasn't for the fact that he was an evil, soulless vampire and therefore by definition nasty and... and ugly...and... and... not at all... _beautiful_, Buffy thought, he looked.... with the moonlight brushing his face with silver and highlighting the sharp lines of his cheekbones... he looked... He turned and strode off, duster swinging. Buffy sat for a long time, staring at nothing. Then, with a sigh, she jumped down from the branch and headed back to Riley.


End file.
